KUALA LUMPUR: The score is one-zero in favour of Malaysia, but national coach Kim Pan Gon is not ready to say Malaysia have one foot in the AFF Cup final.
After seeing his team edge Thailand 1-0 in the semi-final first leg at Bukit Jalil yesterday, Pan Gon knows anything can happen in the next 90 minutes of the second leg at Thammasat Stadium in Bangkok on Tuesday.
For the Thais, this is uncharted territory. In seven previous occasions in the semi-finals, they never trailed in the first leg.
However the Malaysian camp are under no illusion that the contest is over,
Pan Gon, while praising his men for yesterday's triumph, warned of a tougher challenge on Tuesday.
"It's hard to say 1-0 is enough but it's very important that we didn't concede any away goal. It will be tougher in the second game."
Datuk K. Rajagobal, who coached Malaysia to their one and only AFF Cup title in 2010, said yesterday's first leg win was one that Malaysians should be happy about despite not by a bigger margin. Malaysia
The home side had a goal by Dominic Tan controversially overturned in the 55th minute by South Korean referee Kim Dae Yong.
"Sometimes, games like that can happen. What's important is that we get the one goal. As you can see, it wasn't easy to get goals in the game," Rajagobal said.
"In the first half, there was a chance with Quentin (Cheng) and later in the game, that decision. Could have been 3-0 maybe but in the end, a win is a win.
"It's better than losing because in this stage, the away goal is very important and it was vital that the team didn't concede."
Though Harimau won't be backed by Fortress Bukit Jalil on Tuesday, (Thailand haven't beaten Malaysia in their last six meetings there), Rajagobal is expecting another positive result having seen what Pan Gon has achieved with the team so far.
With their 1-0 lead, the game doesn't change much for Malaysia in the second leg even if Pan Gon's team trail by two goals. That's because just one more goal from Malaysia will be enough to clinch the match.
"If Malaysia score first, then the game changes very quickly. I'm sure the coach knows what needs to be done.
"The technical team in the squad have shown that they know what to do and we need to trust them."
Under the two-leg AFF Cup format, Malaysia are facing Thailand for the third time at this stage. Both teams had won once.
In 2012, Malaysia drew at home in the first leg but lost away to Thailand in the second leg. In 2018 Malaysia drew at home in the first leg but advanced on away goals in the second leg in Bangkok.
